The communications industry is rapidly changing to adjust to emerging technologies and ever increasing customer demand. This customer demand for new applications and increased performance of existing applications is driving communications network and system providers to employ networks and systems having greater speed and capacity (e.g., greater bandwidth). In trying to achieve these goals, a common approach taken by many communications providers is to use packet switching technology. Increasingly, public and private communications networks are being built and expanded using various packet technologies, such as Internet Protocol (IP). Note, nothing described or referenced in this document is admitted as prior art to this application unless explicitly so stated.
Customers who rely on the use of such networks may contract with one or more service providers to provide one or more guaranteed levels of service, which is typically referred to as a Service Level Agreement. It is important for a Service Provider to provide such service, and to provide measurements detailing such provided levels of service.
In the past, typically special measuring devices (e.g., test instrumentation devices) are connected at various points in a network, which send test packets among themselves in order to measure the levels of service provided between these special measuring devices.